The Portrait Chronicles
by elysynos
Summary: Come along with the G-Wing boys as they are led into a deadly mystery in the mysterious New Orleans. Each pilot discovers the inner light (or darkness) that they possess. Will they be able to survive what the supernatural world throws at them?*Chapter 4*
1. Dawn I

The Portrait Chronicles © Omega-Leigh 2001  
  
Rating: PG-13 Notes: Deathfic? Horror, goes deep into the minds of each pilot and brings out the hidden light (or darkness) that each possesses within. Dark and angsty, sort of humorous. 5-part series.  
  
Dawn- Heero's Story  
  
Morning- Quatre's Story  
  
Noon- Trowa's Story  
  
Twilight- Wufei's Story  
  
Midnight- Duo's Story  
  
  
  
Dawn I  
  
Daniel Roylotte leaned against the mahogany bar of the nightclub, Man's Ruin on Bourbon Street. His sharp grey eyes darted across the room searching for something. The twenty-five year old man impatiently blew his chestnut bangs out of his face.  
  
He hated waiting. It was a waste of good time that he could be out hunting for them.  
  
But tonight was different. There had been a disturbing change of pace. Tonight, he was the one being hunted. And it wasn't by them.  
  
That was the problem with mortals. Something from the outside interfered with their lives and they got too scared. Because they didn't know or understand that part of existence. Then they'd start messing with him, and that was not what Daniel wanted.  
  
But tonight that was what was after him. A mortal.  
  
A puny human boy who had witnessed Daniel's horrifying secret. And Dan wasn't about to let the boy interfere with the plans he had already begun.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
20-Year-Old Heero Yuy rushed down the empty alleyway, his heart pumping rapidly, not from exertion, more from completely unfettered fear. He was chasing after a dark figure that insisted on alluding him.  
  
Suddenly the dark haired ex-Gundam Pilot came to the end of the alley and onto busy Bourbon Street, part of the mysterious, exotic French Quarter of New Orleans.  
  
The figure had disappeared into the crowd.  
  
Heero growled inwardly and ground his balled up fist into a nearby trashcan lid. "Dammit, I lost him."  
  
Heero's eyes searched the sidewalk for some sign of the dark man. He could have gone anywhere, Heero thought. Without wanting to, he allowed his mind to wander back to the bloody events that had occurred on the deserted Fourth-and-Smith Street on the outskirts of the city less than half-an-hour before.  
  
Heero shuddered and squeezed his sapphire blue eyes shut as the image bored into his brain. An old friend had told him about this a long time ago, but back then Heero had not believed him. It was pure myth, fantasy. Nothing like that could truly exist. But, they had been right. They were real.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
"This eighteenth century mansion is a magnificent portrayal of what restoration can do for an old home" A young woman in a business suit and a stewardess like hat explained, leading a group of tourists through the elegant foyer of the Louisiana mansion.  
  
19-year-old Quatre Raberba Winner sighed and rolled his eyes over to look at Trowa Barton and Chang Wufei. Preventers should not be forced to see stupid tourist attractions. Quatre then turned and followed the tour guide down the hallway, Wufei and Trowa not far behind.  
  
"Why exactly are we here?" 22-year-old Trowa finally spoke up, as the three young men moved from one lavishly decorated room to another. "I mean, what does an old mansion in Louisiana have to do with our mission?"  
  
Quatre shrugged. "He's right, Wufei. We're looking for a ring of serial assassins that are connected to the remaining OZ faction, not an out of place napkin ring."  
  
21-year-old Wufei ran his long, slender fingers through his ebony black hair and lifted his onyx eyes to meet Quatre's own cornflower blue ones. "I didn't want you guys to actually know yet, but, since you are here, I guess I can tell you." Wufei grimaced slightly and headed off of the tour guide path and into an empty room on the route.  
  
"We're here investigating serial murderers, yes. But, they're not related to OZ. At least, not unless OZ has been reaching to the bottom of the pits of hell to find assassins."  
  
Quatre eyed the boy suspiciously. "What are we here for then?" Wufei bit his lip in thought. "We're here because, the whole system is supposedly being run out of New Orleans, and its old, deserted mansions."  
  
"An assassination ring being run out of one city?" Trowa spoke up from where he was leaning against one of the walls.  
  
"That's right. But, these are no ordinary serial killers." Wufei's face visibly darkened, and his eyes looked troubled. "What do you mean?" Quatre asked.  
  
Wufei paused a moment before answering. "Their victims.each one of them has had every bit of blood removed from their body." Quatre gasped openly and lifted his hand to his mouth. Trowa stepped up close to his friend and placed his hand on Quatre's shoulder.  
  
"What the hell?" Trowa cursed. "How is that possible?" Wufei shrugged and stared deeply into Trowa's emerald eyes. "That's why we're needed here."  
  
"So, what? What does this mansion have to do with anything?" Quatre finally stuttered, his initial shock spent.  
  
"The first two victims were found in the deserted upstairs of this particular mansion." Wufei informed them. "We're here to go up there and check everything out."  
  
Trowa stepped away from the doorway and motioned Wufei through. "Then lead the way." He said.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Wufei fumbled along the hallway wall, searching for a light-switch. "Wu, this IS an old house, do you think it'll even have electricity in the un-restored sections?" Quatre said, feeling along the other wall. "Found it." Wufei growled, ignoring Quatre's comment. His fingers hit the light switch and he flipped it on.  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Shimatta." Wufei cursed beneath his breath. "Hey, I found some old candles and stuff." Trowa came up behind the two young men and struck a match, lighting on of the covered candles.  
  
"That'll work." Quatre took the candle from him and held it high above his head to see up the winding oak staircase that snaked its way up to the third and fourth stories.  
  
The dim candlelight flickered and cast dancing shadows along the age darkened walls. Dust was heavy over the railing and the stairs themselves.  
  
  
  
Wufei ran his finger over the ornate railing and wrinkled up his nose in disgust. "For a tourist attraction, you'd think they'd clean even the unused rooms." He said.  
  
We'll be able to search around better if we split up." Trowa said. "Quatre, you take the top floor, Wufei, you take this one, and I'll take the third story." Wufei and Quatre nodded in agreement. Wufei disappeared down the hall, while Quatre and Trowa started up the winding staircase.  
  
"It's so.mysterious." Quatre whispered, afraid to speak any louder, almost as if his voice would disturb the air of haunting beauty that the old house set off.  
  
Trowa chuckled beneath his breath, having had the same feelings Quatre did.  
  
They reached the third story landing and Trowa smiled at Quatre momentarily before disappearing into the first doorway. Quatre watched as his candlelight slowly faded. He felt very alone.  
  
"Aww.stop it Quat." He chided himself. "It's a house, what's it going to do to you?" Quatre turned and began up the last staircase, which led to the topmost floor of the house.  
  
He clutched his candle close, trying to keep any draft from blowing out his only light. The dim light lit up the narrow staircase, revealing old pictures on the wall. Quatre leaned in to look closely at each picture.  
  
They were portraits of long dead past owners of the mansion. He began reading the inscriptions beneath each picture. /1782.the deChambres Family/  
  
In the picture stood a middle aged man with slightly greying temples and a stern but fatherly look; his hand was on the back of a chair in which sat a woman with peaceful eyes and long hair.  
  
A young man, who looked to be about Quatre's age stood beside his father, his hand resting on his mother's shoulder.  
  
Two beautiful twin girls sat at their mother's feet, their long flowing skirts of their dresses swirling about them. The smaller of the girls held a little boy of about two years in her arms. He had curly hair and a bright smile.  
  
Cute family, Quatre couldn't help but think. He moved on, just glancing over the other portraits. As he neared the top a certain painting caught his eye. It was a portrait of a young man in early 1800's style clothing  
  
He was casually leaning against a brick wall with his slender arms crossed. A hint of a smirk graced the teen's pale face, lighting his wide violet eyes that were semi-hidden by his messy bangs.  
  
Quatre knew that grin. He knew it very well. His own sky blue eyes traveled down to the inscription beneath the portrait. / Demetrius Maxwell 1754 /  
  
"Oh, Allah." Quatre whispered. There was no possible way. The young man in the picture was a carbon copy of Duo Maxwell, Quatre's friend and fellow ex-Gundam Pilot.  
  
Duo had never known his family. And here, in a mansion in rural Louisiana Quatre had found Duo's past.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
From the dark shadows of the landing of the third story a dark figure watched the young blonde boy with trained eyes. The boy had beautiful pale skin, platinum blonde hair and trusting eyes the colour of the sky. Viktorio wanted him.  
  
And right now was the perfect time to have him.  
  
Why was the boy so intrigued with the picture of Demetrius? Demetrius was long gone. Not that it was something that upset Viktorio.  
  
Viktorio sensed something special about the young boy standing on the stairs. Power radiated off of the boy, it rolled off of him in waves.  
  
That's how Viktorio knew the boy was untrained. He didn't understand his powers, he probably didn't even know he possessed them. He was a threat..a very beautiful, deadly threat.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
  
  
End of Dawn: Part One. Let me know what you think!  
  
Heero: I Don't get it.  
  
Quatre: ::cries:: AM I GONNA DIE??? Omega_Leigh: No, you're not gonna die..yet. Quatre: WAIII!!!! ::cries harder::  
  
Duo: HEY, WHY AM I NOT IN THIS STORY?!?! Wufei and Trowa: ::tackles Duo to the ground and covers up his mouth::  
  
Omega_Leigh: ::anime Sweatdrop: yeah, well, next part will be up shortly. Luv ya'll!! 


	2. Dawn II

Here's the second part! Enjoy!  
  
Duo: AM I IN THIS STORY???!!!  
  
Wufei and Trowa: ::tackle Duo again:: Keep your mouth shut, baka!  
  
  
  
The Portrait Chronicles  
  
Dawn II  
  
Quatre nearly dropped his candle when he heard the unmistakable ring of his cellular phone. He had almost forgotten that he had it.  
  
He fumbled momentarily, setting the candle onto the stair step and then pulled his cell-phone from his pocket. "Desert, here." He answered, using his given code name.  
  
No answer. "Is anyone there?" Quatre cringed as a loud buzzing noise erupted over the phone line.  
  
Quatre sighed and switched off the cell-phone, placing it back in his jacket pocket.  
  
"I wonder who that coulda been." He mused, leaning over to retrieve his candle.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Heero dropped his car phone and it clattered to the floor board of his jeep. His left hand instinctively went up to cover his ear.  
  
Moments earlier he had dialed Quatre's cell-phone number hoping to get a hold of the young man to let him know that he would be at the tourist mansion shortly. Someone had picked up, and then the connection had been broken.  
  
Heero's head throbbed with each beat of his heart.  
  
The phone seemed to have exploded, deafening him at first.  
  
Momentarily the pain that had invaded his mind was gone and he could think clearly again.  
  
He had to get to that mansion quckly.  
  
There was something going on. Heero could feel it.  
  
He hated things that he didn't understand.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Quatre lifted his candle up once again and peered closely at the picture of Demetrius Maxwell.  
  
There was something about the boy in the picture. Something that was too much like Duo.  
  
Quatre's slim fingers traced the outline of Demitrius' slender face.  
  
His eyes rested on a small mark beneath the left eye of the young man. As Quatre leaned closer to the portrait he felt something mentally brush his thoughts.  
  
Something was with him in the deserted, dark top story.  
  
His Uchuu no Kokoru [1] began to ache slightly, revealing what Quatre had been feeling the entire time.  
  
Someone was watching him.  
  
In that same moment a hand reached from behind him and raked its long claw like fingernails across the fragile portrait of Demetrius Maxwell, tearing through the young man's face.  
  
Quatre cried out and took a step backward only to find himself in his attacker's grasp.  
  
Out of instinct he tried to break the hold and turn the tables but the grip was strong.  
  
"Let me go!" Quatre said, struggling to free himself.  
  
"And Why should I?" The man's voice was smooth and even, not even hinting that he was having to struggle to hold the Arabian boy.  
  
Quatre felt the man behind him lower his head to his neck and something sharp began to puncture his neck. Quatre flinched away, trying to bring his elbow back into his attacker's gut, but the man held him easily.  
  
Then he felt the fangs sink into his neck and Quatre cried out in pain and shock.  
  
Oh, Allah. I can't die here.I can't! Quatre thought hazily. Already his eyesight was beginning to blur and the shapes around him began to melt into a hazy apparition.  
  
Why am I so weak.why can't I stop him?  
  
Suddenly the man behind Quatre let out a strangled cry and released his prey. Quatre felt himself suspended as if in mid-air for a moment and then he came crashing down onto the steps. He tumbled headlong down the spiral staircase and came to a crumpled halt at the base.  
  
Quatre slowly opened his eyes for a second, catching a glimpse of an ethereal figure standing atop the steps. His skin was so perfectly white it seemed to glow on its own accord, and then the figure disappeared and Quatre sank gratefully into the dark sea of unconsciousness.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
"Quatre!" A worried voice broke into Quatre's hazy thoughts. "Come on, Quat, wake up."  
  
Quatre didn't want to move. His head was throbbing and his entire body felt as if it had just been slammed mercilessly into a brick wall.  
  
"Uhhnn.." was all Quatre could moan before cringing. It hurt his head to even talk, much less open his eyes or stand up.  
  
"Thank God." Another voice spoke. "Hey, Quatre. You just gonna lay there?"  
  
"You'd better not say a word, Wufei." Quatre weakly growled.  
  
"Good job you did there, falling down the steps. If Trowa hadn't been heading up for you, you might have laid here for a long time." Wufei continued to taunt Quatre.  
  
"Like I didn't?" To Quatre, it felt as if he had been lying at the foot of the fourth story staircase for days.  
  
Trowa put his hands beneath Quatre's arms and gently pulled the smaller man up. "I think you'll be okay. You only hit your head hard enough to knock yourself out. You're not bleeding or anything."  
  
Quatre felt something tighten on his neck, about two inches below his earlobe. He reached his hand up and felt two small wounds on his neck. They had begun to heal up already and the skin was taut.  
  
"Hey, what's that?" Wufei leaned close to Quatre and moved his hand away from his neck. "Did you get bitten by something?"  
  
Quatre wanted to tell him, wanted to explain everything to Wufei. But, it was insane.  
  
No one would believe that someone was upstairs going around biting people on the neck sucking their life's blood out of them. Or would they?  
  
"Someone bit me." Quatre finally whispered.  
  
Wufei's eyes grew wide suddenly and he stared at Quatre as if he had just sprouted horns. "You're joking, right?" Wufei asked incredulously.  
  
"There is a man upstairs and he bit me. That's why I fell, he was holding me and he let me go." Quatre explained, trying his best not to sound like a crazed lunatic.  
  
Trowa also eyed Quatre strangely, and then he rose to his feet and pulled his gun out of his chest holster hidden beneath his Preventer's jacket.  
  
Wufei pulled Quatre to his feet with little difficulty, seeming as Quatre was 20 pounds lighter than the muscular Chinese boy. Trowa began up the steps, his gun trained upward. There was no movement from anywhere. The house was still and silent. Trowa moved on, letting his pilot's instincts kick in. Even after four years of total peace he still relied heavily on his old habits. They were hard to break.  
  
He disappeared around the bend in the stairs and Quatre and Wufei were left on the third story landing to wait for him.  
  
Merely minutes later Trowa reappeared at the top of the steps. His gun was down by his side and he was peering at something small in his left hand.  
  
"Take a look at this." Trowa tossed the item at Wufei who caught it with east.  
  
Wufei's eyes trailed down to the small object he now held in his free hand.  
  
A crucifix.  
  
A plain, silver crucifix.  
  
"Where did you get this?" Wufei asked. Trowa jerked his thumb back toward the top of the steps. "It was lying on the top step. There's some foot prints in the dust up there too. Someone WAS up there with Quatre."  
  
Wufei turned the crucifix over and over in his hand. "Hn.this looks like Duo's cross." He finally spoke up.  
  
"But, it's not, Duo's has an inscription.right here." Quatre took the necklace from Wufei's grasp and stared at it, pointing to the back of the cross.  
  
His memory drifted back. When he had fallen he had instinctively reached out for something to grab on to. His hand had caught a hold of a chain and it had broken. The chain HAD been around someone else's neck and Quatre had broken it when he fell.  
  
Quatre's thoughts were broken by the sound of someone running up the steps. Wufei turned and Trowa drew his pistol once again.  
  
From below them came a blur of forest green, khaki, and dark brown. A young man stood before them, two steps away from being on the landing.  
  
His hair was dark and tousled, his messy bangs falling over into his eyes. Two crystal clear sapphire blue eyes. "Heero!" Quatre grinned happily at seeing his old friend.  
  
"Didn't think you were coming, Yuy." Wufei teased, reaching out and shaking Heero's hand.  
  
"I got here as fast as I could." Heero said. "I knew I was supposed to meet you earlier, but I got held up in traffic."  
  
"Likely story." Trowa said, his lips starting to curl up in a grin.  
  
Heero rolled his eyes. "So, what did I miss?"  
  
Immediately the three boys' eyes darkened and Heero knew what happened even before they could tell him.  
  
"It looks like we all have a story to tell. Let's get back to the safe-house and talk about it there." Quatre said. He pulled himself out of Wufei's supporting hold and began down the steps. The other three followed suit.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
  
  
Daniel stuffed his hands deep into his over coat pockets and walked along the sidewalk amidst tourists and natives of New Orleans.  
  
He would never quite be able to understand mortals. They were so busy all the time, moving from one place to another.  
  
How could they stand such a busy, clearly stressful life?  
  
Of course, Daniel wasn't one to talk. He himself was always on the run, either being chased, or chasing something.  
  
He hated that part of being one of the undead. At least he could go out in daylight, save what most of the undead could not.  
  
His mind kept on going back to the night before when the young man had discovered Daniel feeding.  
  
There was something about that young man that Daniel did not like.  
  
Naturally, Daniel despised humans. They were weak and loud and so stressful. But this certain human reeked of power. Something that Daniel had not seen in a human since he had first become one of the undead.  
  
Humans had long ago lost the ability to even realize that they held powers of either dark or light in them. It was impossible that a human now could gain control of them again.  
  
Daniel didn't like it in the least bit. He must find that young man and dispose of him quickly, before he became a threat to the existence of the undead in New Orleans.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
A slender figure sat on the edge of a neatly made bed. It was a large bed, having four posts that held up a thick velvet drapery identical to the crimson drapery that hung over the large windows that looked down upon a busy street of New Orleans.  
  
The figure shifted slightly, placing a delicate white hand onto the velvet comforter beneath her. She flipped a torrent of curly golden hair over her shoulder and pouted her lower lip out in frustration. Night had just fallen, it was safe to leave the house, but Cassandra did not want to.  
  
There was no need for her to feed. She was not hungry.  
  
Slowly the petite girl rose to her feet and moved to the window, her movement so graceful that she appeared to be floating instead of walking. Her skirts swirled about her slender ankles.  
  
She pushed the draperies back and stared forlornly out over the darkened New Orleans street. It was just as busy during the night as it was in the day, but now a different breed of people, humans and undead walked the streets.  
  
Life here had changed since Cassandra had originally lived in New Orleans. She would move around, it was too dangerous to live in one place for too long. Humans were smarter than they used to be.  
  
Humans and the undead mingled quite easily. Humans strove to look like them, be like them, even Ibecome/I one of them.  
  
"Fools." Cassandra scoffed, glaring down at the people on the street. They were all fools. Why did they want to be like her? Why did they want to be such a.such a monstrosity?  
  
And the undead, especially the babies of the era were fools as well. They reveled in the humans' wishes to become one of them. They enjoyed mingling with them, and trading ideals and thoughts.  
  
Cassandra couldn't stand that, she couldn't stand the thought of her beloved lifestyle becoming just like that of the humans.  
  
But.hadn't she also been one of them?  
  
Cassandra let out an exasperated sigh and leaned her forehead against the cold, clear glass of the window. Her sparkling green eyes traveled from figure to figure, masterly singling her own kind from that of the others.  
  
Then her eyes rested on a lone figure in the crowd.  
  
A boy.no, a young man.  
  
He had an aura about him that far exceeded the powers set off by the hordes of vampires that walked along the street beneath her.  
  
But, he himself, was not a vampire.  
  
A human? Cassandra was appalled at the thought. No human has the ability to revive the powers that lie within all living and unliving creatures.  
  
Slowly the human turned and looked up toward her window. Their eyes met and Cassandra gasped.  
  
A deep, haunted pair of violet eyes met her emerald green ones. Cassandra knew those eyes..she would know them anywhere. Even after over three centuries she could still recognize his eyes.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
  
  
[1] Uchuu no Kokoru : quite literally, Space Heart. Remember in episode (can't remember the number) Heero, Distracted by Defeat. Heero self- detonated and Quatre's heart suddenly began to hurt? Quatre's an empath, and that gives him the ability to sense things, like others pain or fear.  
  
  
  
End of Dawn Part II  
  
Heero: I still don't get it.  
  
Wufei and Trowa: ::finish tying Duo up. Wufei stuffs the end of Duo's braid into his mouth and puts duck tape over it::  
  
Quatre: I didn't die, YAYY!!! 


	3. Dawn III

Dawn III  
  
Omega-Leigh  
  
Heero led the way out of the mansion and into the slightly nippy winter air. New Orleans had a tropical climate being almost right on the Gulf of Mexico. But still, in the winter it got a slight chill in the air.  
  
Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei stepped into the now dark night. The only light that shone on them was from a nearby street lamp, and from inside the mansion itself.  
  
Heero pulled his jacket around him and turned to look at Quatre. "We going back to the safe-house just yet?" He asked  
  
"Not unless you want to roam around New Orleans. Did you just get here today?" Quatre inquired.  
  
"I got in last night. I stayed at a hotel down near Bourbon Street. I was going to go check out and get my stuff before we went back." Heero bit his bottom lip and looked down the busy city street.  
  
"It's amazing." Trowa stepped up beside Heero. "You can go inside that place and it's like you're in a different world, then you step back outside, into reality."  
  
"Sucks, doesn't it?" Wufei asked.  
  
Quatre laughed slightly. "Go on Heero, we'll meet up with you in about an hour or so." Heero nodded and started down the crowded street dissolving into the crowd after a moment.  
  
"Well, let's get back to the house." Wufei said, walking toward an unmarked car parked to the side of the mansion.  
  
"Sounds good." Quatre grinned as he and Trowa slipped into the car and Wufei drove off.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Heero kept his head bowed as he walked. He had parked his jeep about two blocks away from the de Chambres mansion. But, he was going to leave it there. It was about an hour's walk back to his hotel, but he didn't mind. It was a crisp night and the stars were out.  
  
People pressed around Heero, people of all colours and styles. New Orleans was such a versatile city.  
  
Duo would love it here, Heero found himself thinking.  
  
At the thought Heero began to wonder where Duo was. No one had been able to catch up with him lately. The braided ex-Deathscythe pilot was almost as elusive as Heero could be.  
  
Quatre had gotten a hold of Hilde, Duo's sister-like friend, who lived on space colony L2. She hadn't seen or heard from Duo in about five months. Heero guessed that the youngest pilot had gone off in space somewhere with his salvage crew.  
  
Heero had been walking for quite some time now, and he had not been paying attention to where he was walking.  
  
He looked up to see that he had wandered away from the busy side of town and into a deserted area of the French Quarter.  
  
But it wasn't as quite deserted as he thought. Ahead of him stood a lone figure standing beneath the lamppost.  
  
After a quick look at the figure Heero could tell it was a man, a relatively young man. He had on a long overcoat and black pants. His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets and his head was lowered.  
  
Heero did not feel good about this at all. Then an image reappeared into his mind. The image of that.thing...feeding on that young man the night before.  
  
This was that same thing. That, vampire. Heero's eyes narrowed and he reached into his jacket, tightening his fingers over the butt of his gun.  
  
"Don't even think about it." A deep voice said smoothly.  
  
Heero paused in mid draw.  
  
"I don't think you want to do that." The vampire spoke, lifting his head up and meeting Heero's eyes.  
  
"Wh.what the hell are you?" Heero stuttered, beginning to get lost in the black pools of the vampire's eyes.  
  
"I am not a vampire, as you previously thought. But, I am one of the undead." The man spoke, moving toward Heero.  
  
"And you.you are a threat to the existence of our kind."  
  
Heero lowered his hand and stared at the man incredulously. "I don't even believe in 'your kind'." Heero growled. "Now, get lost. I don't want to have to shoot you."  
  
The man laughed, but it was not a mirthful laugh. It was a deadly laugh.  
  
"You humans are fools." The man chuckled, his eyes flashing.  
  
He lifted the corners of his mouth up, revealing a gleaming pair of fangs. Heero was not an expert, but those teeth were no fakes.  
  
"Kuso.." Heero cursed, reaching once again for his gun. Immediately the vampire was upon him. The dark man threw his entire weight against Heero and knocked him onto the ground.  
  
Heero's gun slipped out of his grasp and went clattering across the pavement, resting somewhere in the tall grass beside the sidewalk.  
  
The man easily pinned Heero's arms down to his side and leaned in over him.  
  
"I'll finish you off. You'll make a nice appetizer." He growled throatily.  
  
"Over my dead body!" Heero brought his legs up and used the man's own weight to flip him off of him.  
  
The man landed on the concrete heavily, but immediately he was back on his feet, circling Heero, his eyes glimmering deadly.  
  
He attacked again, this time forcing Heero down onto the pavement so hard that it knocked the breath out of the ex-pilot.  
  
Heero felt the man sink his vampiric fangs into his neck and he gasped from the torrent of pain that shot through his neck and chest.  
  
Suddenly the man was off of Heero and backing away. He grasped at his throat and fell to his knees, coughing up the blood that he had just taken in.  
  
Heero rose to his feet easily and watched the man writhe on the ground beneath him.  
  
What the hell was going on here?  
  
"You.you're not human!" the man cried, pain and terror evident in his voice. He lifted his eyes to Heero's own and Heero felt that he could see the man's life flash through their depths.  
  
"Then tell me, what am I?"  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Cassandra rushed down the dark street, her long, silken green skirts whirling around her. She had left the apartment without even thinking about grabbing her cloak and the night air was cold on her bare arms.  
  
But she didn't care. She was after someone. After that man with the haunted amethystine eyes.  
  
Where was he? Why had he disappeared so fast?  
  
Thoughts rushed through the girl's mind, one illusion after another. Like stars whirling through the voids of outer space.  
  
She was on the verge of hysteria. Her small body wracked with sobs and she grasped onto a cast iron post surrounding a long deserted mansion.  
  
Cassandra fell to her knees and sobbed. She could feel the hot tears that mingled with blood spilling down her cheeks. Why was she so sad?  
  
Because.she was sad because of him..he had left..no.died...leaving her..and her sister, his lover alone. Without a mother, or a father.  
  
They had murdered the servants.And taken her saviour, her older brother Jonathan to torture and kill. Her baby brother Cailn had been murdered as well. And Cassandra could only watch, she could only watch as her family was murdered before her eyes.as their bodies were burned.  
  
And it was all because of her.  
  
Cassandra continued to cry, she would have cried on and on until she could have bled herself dry, but she was startled out of her memories by the approach of.something very powerful.  
  
"Hey there..what's wrong?"  
  
That voice. That beautiful tenor voice.  
  
"Yo, girl, you okay?"  
  
It was that same voice. She wasn't dreaming.  
  
Cassandra lifted her eyes and was startled as she met those same haunting violet orbs of light.  
  
"D.Demetrius?"  
  
  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
  
  
That name..why did it seem so familiar?  
  
The young man's eyes narrowed and he looked at the hysterical young girl on the ground.  
  
She's not young though.  
  
She's old..very, very old.  
  
How do I know this?  
  
The girl shakily got to her feet and stood to her full height of 5 feet 2 inches. Her long blonde hair glimmered like gold in the light of the street lamp and her emerald green eyes flickered with an inner fire.  
  
Why does she seem so familiar?  
  
I should know her  
  
I should  
  
Why don't I remember?  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Cassandra stared at the boy in confusion and then she realized what was wrong.  
  
He didn't remember.  
  
He had been in a sleep for a very long time.  
  
He hadn't died  
  
He was one of the undead  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
  
  
Heero glared down at the man, and he felt a slight twinge of pity for the creature.  
  
"Then tell me, what the hell am I?" Heero asked. "Am I human? Am I a vampire? What am I?" the man coughed up a bit more blood and cowered away from Heero.  
  
"You are not a vampire, and you are not human." The man hissed slightly, his face contorted as if in pain. "I do not know what you are."  
  
  
  
Heero dropped his gaze down to his hand, which was devoid of the gun that had been there when he had fallen.  
  
"I.I don't understand." Heero said, for once completely lost. "What caused you to not kill me?"  
  
The man wiped his mouth and stood, so gracefully that Heero thought at first that he had not stood, but had floated into that position.  
  
"You.I cannot feed off an undead creature. It means death for me."  
  
Heero arched his eyebrow. "I'm one of the undead?"  
  
Great, it's not everyday that you discover that you are not a human. Heero LOVED this.  
  
"You are not human, that does not make you one of the undead."  
  
"You mean, there's more?" this was getting better and better.  
  
"You have a power, unlike any other that I have experienced thus far." The man moved toward him, and strangely, Heero did not feel the need to take on a defensive position.  
  
"My name is Daniel Roylotte. I have been one of the undead for seventy-two years now. It is a pleasure to meet you, Heero Yuy."  
  
  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
END OF CHAPTER THREE!! Yayy!! I'm on a roll tonight!! (can you believe I've written all of this TODAY??)  
  
Heero: Let me get this straight, I'm not a human?  
  
Duo: ::spits braid out of his mouth:: You mean it took you this long to figure that out?? You've NEVER been Human!!!  
  
  
  
Omega-Leigh: uhh..yeah. well, I hope ya'll enjoy this! 


	4. Dawn IV

I just noticed that I hadn't put any disclaimers on this yet, so I will now.  
  
Disclaimers: The Rights to Gundam Wing DO NOT belong to me. The characters that ARE NOT Gundam Wing Characters though, DO in fact belong to me. The story idea is MINE. Not yours. I'll hit you with a wet penguin if you steal this.  
  
If you have read the Episode Zero series, forget everything you read. None of that applies to this story at all. So, forget about it. I am brainwashing you into not believing the Episode Zero. Ok? Ok. Now read.  
  
  
  
Dawn IV  
  
Wufei pulled the car to a grinding halt in front of a darkened two-story house about thirty miles outside of New Orleans.  
  
The moonbeams rained down upon the white colonial house, causing it to stand out against the black forest that surrounded it.  
  
Wufei killed the engine and stepped out of the car, resting his hand on the roof of the car.  
  
Trowa got out of the passenger's side door and Quatre emerged from behind Wufei. Quatre lifted his blue eyes up and stared at the house in awe.  
  
"Everything here in Louisiana is mysteriously beautiful." He whispered.  
  
Wufei nodded absently and started up the porch steps, pulling out a ring of keys from his pocket. He unlocked the door and allowed it to swing open.  
  
"Leave it to Sally to make sure we had nice private accommodations." Wufei grinned and Quatre and Trowa walked past him into the house. His mind trailed off as he thought of his girlfriend. He wondered how she was doing.  
  
Sally-Po was doing her weekly rounds of the colonies at this point, Wufei guessed. He'd have to contact her later on that night and see if there were any more reports to headquarters on the New Orleans assassin's ring.  
  
Wufei closed the front door and switched on a nearby table light, illuminating the foyer and hallway. Already Quatre and Trowa had begun to wander about the downstairs.  
  
"Heero should be here in an hour or so." Wufei deducted, after he checked his watch with the grandfather clock in the hallway. Stupid time zones. If you go from Tokyo to New Orleans it's almost like taking up a new day. Leave it up to earth to figure out a way to confuse a Gundam Pilot.  
  
"This place is magnificent, Wufei!" Quatre cried out from the living room. Trowa and Wufei came into the living room at the same time through two different doorways.  
  
"Kitchen's nice. Catherine would have a field day here." Trowa said, his eyes lighting up at the thought of his beloved sister.  
  
Quatre was sitting on ornately carved bench of a turn of the century piano. His hands were rested lightly on the keys and his eyes were eagerly looking over the instrument.  
  
"This is just amazing!" Quatre finally was able to say.  
  
Wufei laughed and sat down on the couch, motioning Trowa to do the same. The lanky circus boy sat down on the recliner across from Wufei and smiled slightly at Quatre.  
  
"Play us something, Quat." Trowa said.  
  
Quatre nodded and closed his eyes, allowing his mind to guide his hands. Gently, he began to play.  
  
A familiar, yet beautiful melody softly filled the room as Quatre expertly moved his hands up and down the ancient keyboard.  
  
Wufei and Trowa sat in thoughtful silence, appreciating the peace that Quatre set off from his piano playing.  
  
Quatre continued on for a few moments longer and then he held down the last few chords to create a lasting hum over the room. He opened his eyes as the last bit of music faded almost as if it were the rays of the sun fading away over the horizon before the darkness settled in.  
  
Trowa paused for a moment before rising to his feet and smiling uncharacteristically at Quatre. "That was perfection, as usual, Quat." Trowa said.  
  
Quatre smiled happily, his bright blue eyes twinkling in the dim light of the living room. Wufei stood as well and moved into the kitchen.  
  
"Anyone want any coffee or something?" he asked, searching through the seemingly empty cabinets.  
  
"Some hot cocoa would be nice." Quatre and Trowa spoke at the same time. The two friends eyed each other, then laughed.  
  
"And just since Duo isn't here, add extra marshmallows to mine!" Quatre said teasingly, thinking of how the braided pilot would be hogging all of the marshmallows to himself.  
  
"I'll have the same." Trowa said after a seconds thought.  
  
Wufei found some clean coffee mugs and cocoa mix in one of the cabinets and he pulled the items down.  
  
"Quatre, see if you can find a pot and warm up some water on the stove over there." Wufei said.  
  
Moving quickly, the three friends soon were sitting back in the living room in front of a warm fire, sipping hot cocoa and reminiscing.  
  
"And, what about that time that Duo glued Wufei's ponytail together while he was sleeping, and Wufei woke up the next morning with the pillow stuck to his head?!" Quatre was able to choke out through his laughter.  
  
Trowa laughed heartily as well as Wufei.  
  
"Stupid baka, he paid for it though." Wufei smiled, thinking of how he got Duo back by dousing the shorter pilot's beloved braid in molasses the next day.  
  
Quatre sobered up and looked outside, finding the position of the moon and calculating the time.  
  
"Shouldn't Heero be here by now?" He asked, worry starting to edge like shadows into his voice.  
  
Trowa and Wufei looked at each other and then out into the night.  
  
"Maybe he just got caught up with something." Trowa said, though he himself doubted his words.  
  
"Yeah, maybe." Quatre looked down into his cocoa and sighed, hoping that the feeling that was sitting like a ticking time bomb inside of him would not come to the surface.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
  
  
But how? How could he be one of the undead?  
  
Cassandra had seen him die. She had been standing not ten feet away from him when the human men had beat him and stabbed him.  
  
She had seen every last trace of that beautiful crimson liquid that mortals gave for granted, seep out of his broken body. She had seen the wound that had taken his life. That.beast that had thrust the blade of his sword through Demetrius' heart, how he had laughed when Demetri's eyes could no longer see him and his ears could no longer hear the demonic laughter.  
  
There was no physical way that Demetri could have been revived, even by the most powerful of the undead. It was impossible.  
  
This young man before her could not be Demetrius.  
  
"Hey, lady? Are you okay?" The voice came again, so unmistakably familiar.  
  
"Y..yes." Cassandra stuttered, immediately aware of her position in this. She had been sitting on the ground, and her face was tear streaked.  
  
"Forgive me." Cassandra said. The young man offered her his hand and she took it, gracefully rising to her feet and standing her full five feet two inches tall.  
  
Next to the young man she could have passed for a mere child.  
  
He stood almost a full foot above her. But he was slender, almost sickeningly so. And his skin was just as pale as her own.  
  
He was physically very beautiful.  
  
Cassandra smiled at the boy, careful not to raise her lips up too far and reveal her fangs. It was a skill that she had mastered quickly after becoming one of the creatures of the night.  
  
"Uhh.could I maybe walk you home, or to wherever you were going?" The young man asked, a hint of almost shyness coming through.  
  
"I'm fine, really." Cassandra said, straightening out her skirts with her slender fingers.  
  
"I wouldn't mind. I was just wandering around anyway." He smiled down at her. At least, she guessed that it was a smile. He lifted up the corners of his mouth slightly, without anything really reaching his eyes.  
  
Cassandra couldn't help but smile back and the young man offered her his arm.  
  
"So, where do you live?" he asked as she wound her bared arm with his.  
  
"About three blocks back into the city." Cassandra informed him. "On Tailwind Avenue."  
  
"That's in the French Quarter, right?" Down near Fourth Street?"  
  
Cassandra lowered her eyes to the ground to keep from staring at the boy.  
  
"It's close to there. Yes."  
  
"That's not far from the hotel I'm staying in. I was heading back that way." The boy looked down at her.  
  
"So, you're not from here." She said matter-of-factly.  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"Well, that's why I'm here." The young man said. "To find out who I am."  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Heero stared at the creature's hand before reaching out and taking it.  
  
"Very good." The man said. "You are coming to believe me now."  
  
"I don't know whether to trust you or not." Heero stated evenly, pulling his hand back.  
  
"Belief and trust are two completely different things." Daniel said. "The secret is, distinguishing between the two. It is the same for all things. Light and dark, love and hate." They are all the same, but yet, they are very different."  
  
"Don't go getting all philosophical on me." Heero turned away from Daniel and moved to where he had last seen his handgun.  
  
He stooped down in the grass and picked the gun up, wiping the dew from it onto his jeans before putting it back in its holster.  
  
"You're a very strong person, Heero Yuy. No, that's not your name." Daniel let his sentence trail off. "Heero Yuy is not your real name."  
  
Heero paused, his back still to Daniel, then he turned ever so slightly to look at the man. "How do you know that?" Heero asked softly, his voice taut.  
  
"I can feel it."  
  
"That makes no sense." Heero shot a glare at Daniel before turning fully around and stalking back into the dark night.  
  
"Believe me or not, Odin. I will be walking right behind you until you come to reason."  
  
Odin  
  
Was that his name?  
  
It was familiar  
  
Too familiar  
  
"Your name is Odin, isn't it?" Daniel asked, his voice suddenly much gentler.  
  
"I, I don't know." Heero kept his back turned to Daniel, and lowered his head.  
  
"Just how long have you been sleeping, Odin? How long have you been blind to what you are?" Daniel's questions were flowing out now.  
  
"I don't know!" Heero suddenly cried out. "I don't remember anything! I don't have a childhood! I've always been a soldier!"  
  
Daniel moved closer to Heero and put a slender hand on the young man's shoulder.  
  
"Odin. No, Heero. I will call you that. You have been like this your entire life, haven't you? You have been the same age always." Daniel paused. "Your body has not changed since you can remember, has it?"  
  
Heero took a deep breath. Everything Daniel was saying made sense. He couldn't remember his childhood. There was that imagined childhood that Doctor J had made up for him. But, that was useless, because it was not HIS childhood. Heero could remember only from the time his training had begun. There was no time before that.  
  
"Odin Lowe." Heero spoke, so gently that Daniel barely heard it. "My name is, was Odin Lowe."  
  
"Very good." Daniel smiled, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. "Very good."  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
  
  
Cassandra licked her lips and gave the young man a slight smile.  
  
"Thank you for bringing me home." She said. "I appreciate it very much."  
  
"No problem. You take care, okay?" The young man shot her a slight smile and then turned and disappeared down the street.  
  
Cassandra stood in her doorway for a moment, then something dawned upon her. She hadn't even asked for the young man's name.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Heero and Daniel walked briskly down the crowded sidewalk of Bourbon Street.  
  
"My hotel's just around the corner. I'm going to get my stuff and then get my jeep, and we'll be on our way to the safe-house." Heero said. "You stay outside."  
  
Daniel merely shrugged and continued to walk alongside the young man.  
  
When they reached the hotel Heero dashed inside and Daniel leaned against the brick wall outside.  
  
One of us.  
  
Heero is one of us.  
  
But, is he?  
  
Or is he something else?  
  
Something far more deadly.  
  
Daniel sighed in frustration. There were so many things he didn't understand.  
  
Why had he known so much about Heero? How was that possible?  
  
It was something rolling off of the young man, it was his power that drew Daniel to him. Daniel felt that he had to protect Heero. But how? Daniel was merely a Chrono-vampire [1]. He wasn't a full breed. He wasn't half as powerful as the true creatures of the night.  
  
He could not stand up to creatures like Merissa deChambres or the legendary Corin Brookeshire, Master vampire of New Orleans. Vampires like themselves held all the power in the world over young Chrono's like Daniel.  
  
He only had one thing over the full breed vampires. He had the assistance of the day.  
  
  
  
Shortly, Heero re-appeared out of the hotel, carrying a duffel bag and a briefcase.  
  
"C'mon. My Jeep's across the street." Daniel followed the young man and easily jumped up into the vehicle. Heero tossed his bags into the back and slid into the driver's seat. He switched the key on and gunned the engine.  
  
They'd be into the rural Louisiana countryside in less than half an hour.  
  
  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
End of part Four! I hope ya'll enjoyed it!  
  
Part five should be up shortly! 


End file.
